Legendary Met Tom Seaver never played a single game at Citi Field, but he’ll be remembered there forever.
What used to be 126th Street — from Northern Boulevard to Roosevelt Avenue — was officially renamed Tom Seaver Way on Thursday morning, and Citi Field will have the address of 41 Tom Seaver Way, in a nod to the Hall of Fame right-hander’s uniform number.
The Mets also announced plans for a Seaver statue.
Children and grandchildren of Seaver were joined by members of the 1969 World Series club to celebrate the honor, which has been in the works since the summer of 2016. Seaver, who has dementia and retired from public life, did not attend the event.
“Being here, it is more joyous and more emotional than what I had anticipated. It’s a wonderful thing, we’re thrilled, mom and dad are thrilled,” said Seaver’s daughter, Sarah Seaver, after the ceremony. “Very humbling.”
The statue, which likely will be placed outside the stadium, is expected to be ready for the 2020 season. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon said that the Mets are in the early stages of the process.
“We’re dealing with an artist, so the artist dictates how long he wants to take,” Wilpon said. “He’s going to do a clay model, which hopefully we’ll be able to show everybody. And then once that happens, he does a life-size model, and then from the life-size, he goes to a full size of what the statue will be.
“So it does take some time, and we’re just finishing his contract now. We’ve picked somebody and moving forward. We have a location that the Hall of Fame committee likes, and we’ll roll that out another time.”
Mets announcer Howie Rose gave introductory remarks for the ceremony, highlighting how Seaver changed the landscape of New York sports. He compared Seaver’s pitching to art, before a creative portrait by artist Charles Vazzino was put on display for the event.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Councilman Francisco Moya also shared words of endearment for the 74-year-old Seaver.
Wilpon said he was proud of the event and happy to be a part of the day alongside fans and former players, but he had little to say when it came to the current Mets: “We’re not playing well right now.”
